DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS
2 NAVY ANNEX

WASHINGTON DC 20370-5100

JRE
Docket No. 10018-09

25 October 2010

Chairman, Board for Correction of Naval Records
Secretary of the Navy

FORMER QP sn, a a_i

REVIEW OF NAVAL RECORD

 

(aj 16 U.S.C, 1552

(1) DD Form 149 w/attachments
(2) NPC memorandum 5420 PERS-312A/06, 17 Aug 10

(3) Subject's naval record

 

1. Pursuant to the provisions of reference (a), Subieet.

hereinafter referred to as Petitioner, filed enclosure (1) with this
Board requesting, in effect, that his naval record be corrected to
show his “service in country at Cam Rahn [sic] Bay, Vietnam during

the period July-68-Dec-68".

2. The Board, consisting of Mses. QP and G2...

reviewed Petitioner's allegations of error and injustice
October 2010 and, pursuant to its regulations, a majority determined

that the corrective action indicated below should be taken on the
available evidence of record. Documentary material considered by the
Board consisted of the enclosures, naval records, and applicable

statutes, regulations and policies.

3. The Board, having reviewed all the facts of record pertaining
to Petitioner's allegations of error and injustice finds as follows:

g to this Board, Petitioner exhausted all

a. Before applyin
isting law and regulations

administrative remedies available under ex
within the Department of the Navy.

b. Although the application was not timely filed, the Board finds
it tobe inthe interest of justice to waive the statute of limitations

and consider the application on the merits.

c. Petitioner enlisted in the Navy on 14 February 1967. He served
primarily in P-3 squadrons as a P-3 systems organizational
maintenance technician. He reported to Patrol Squadron Twenty-Two
(VP-22), Naval Air Station (NAS), Barber’s Point, Hawaii, on 22
November 1967, and remained assigned to that squadron until
transferred on 17 December 1970. VP-22 deployed to Naha, Okinawa,
Japan on 30 June 1968, anda detachment of VP-22 was supported at
Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam. During June 1971, Petitioner was awarded the
Air Medal (First Strike Flight Award) for successfully completing
two hundred fifty flight hours in direct combat support operations
against the enemy in an active combat area of Southeast Asia from
15 June 1968 to 15 January 1969 and 15 November 1969 to 30 April 1970.
In addition, he was awarded the Vietnam Service Medal and the Vietnam
Campaign Medal..,Each of those decorations coyld be awarded for
service in or in support of operations in Vietnam, and there was no
requirement that the recipient to be physically present on the ground
in Vietnam or its inland waters in order to qualify for an award.
Petitioner was honorably discharged on 1 December 1970 and reenlisted
the following day. He remained on active duty until 1 September 1974,
when he was honorably discharged.

d. In correspondence attached as enclosure (2), the Board was
advised by direction of the Commander, Navy Personnel Command, that
“review of Petitioner’s service and medical records failed to
document service “in-country” [in Vietnam]; “Unfortunately, the
unofficial photos and statements by other personnel contained in
enclosure (1) are not considered appropriate documents that would
authorize entries of this nature to be made in an official Navy
Record”; and “Regrettably, it is our opinion that the petition be
denied”.

e. For the purpose of determining entitlement to certain VA
benefits, it is presumed that a veteran who served in Vietnam during
the Vietnam era was exposed to a herbicidal agent. The term service
in Vietnam includes service in Vietnam and/or its inland waterways,
as well service involving visitation to Vietnam. No minimum period
of service in Vietnam is required to trigger the application of the
presumption. Diabetes mellitus type II is one of the conditions
presumptively linked to exposure to herbicidal agents.

f. Petitioner contends, in effect, that he applied for service
connection for diabetes mellitus, type II, which is linked to his
presumed exposure to herbicides in Vietnam. The Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA) denied his request because entries in his
service record do not establish that he served in Vietnam. He obtained
statements from three persons with whom he claims he served or had
contact while in Vietnam. Two of the statements are to the effect
that their authors had “contact” with Petitioner in Cam Ranh Bay in
1968 and/or 1969. The third is to the effect that its author and
Petitioner served together in VP-22 in Cam Ranh Bay in 1968, and that
they were “in and out of country” (Cam Ranh) for approximately six
months in 1968. Petitioner also obtained copies of photographs of
himself he states were taken in Vietnam, as well as several
photographs of Cam Ranh Bay that were posted on “Yahoo/flickr” and
provide partial corroboration of his contentions. The statements
and photographs are filed in enclosure (1).

MAJORITY CONCLUSION:

Upon review and consideration of all the evidence of record and
notwithstanding the comments contained in enclosure (2), Ms. Trucco
and Mr. Spooner believe Petitioner's contention that he served on
the ground in Vietnam for some period of time during the July- December
1968 period. Accordingly, they find the existence of an injustice
warranting the following corrective action.

RECOMMENDATION :

a. That Petitioner's naval record be corrected to show that he
served the ground in Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam, for one or more days during
the period from July to December 1968 while serving on active duty
in the Navy.

b. That a copy of this Report of Proceedings be filed in
Petitioner's naval record.

MINORITY CONCLUSION:

Upon review and consideration of all of the evidence of record, Mr.
Guill concludes that Petitioner has failed to submit sufficient
relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable material
error or injustice in his naval record. In this regard, she
substantially concurs with the comments and recommendation contained
in enclosure (2). Accordingly, Ms. Guill recommends that
Petitioner’s request for correction of his record be denied.

4. It is certified that a quorum was present at the Board's review
and deliberations, and that the foregoing is a true and complete
record of the Board's proceedings in the above,entitled matter.

ROBERT D. ZSALMAN JAMES R. ICIOS
Recorder Acting Récorder
5. The foregoing report of the Board is submitted for your review
and action.

/

Lat Dae

W. DEAN PFEYFF

Approved majority recommendation la)

 

Approved minority recommendation

(ht Wah — 1]

ROBERT L. WOODS

Assistant General Counsel
(Manpower and Reserve Affairs)
1000 Navy Pentagon, Rm 4D548
Washington, DC 20350-1000